By Jeff Jorgensen
The 2010 Iowa Republican Convention is over; now let’s hand out the awards.
The Sour Grapes Award goes to—Mr. Bob Vander Plaats . We give this award to Mr. Vander Plaats for his performance as the “spoiler” of the convention. Vander Plaats was defeated in the primary elections by former four term Governor Terry Branstad. After being nominated from the floor for Lt. Governor, Bob took to the podium to deliver his three minute speech. He started out with a call for party unity, and just when he got to the part of his speech where he should have declined the nomination for the sake of party unity, he accepted. What a curve-ball!
The Touch of Class Award goes to—Former State Representative Rod Roberts. We give this award to Representative Roberts for his performance at the podium after he too was nominated from the floor for Lt. Governor. Just as Mr. Vander Plaats would do minutes later, Rod started his speech with a call for party unity. But when he got to the part of his speech where he should have declined the nomination for the sake of party unity, he did just that. At this convention, Rod Roberts demonstrated why he’s a class act worthy of respect from all Iowa Republicans. We haven’t heard the last of Mr. Roberts.
It should be noted that the floor nominations went nowhere. State Senator Kim Reynolds won the slot for Lt Governor with 55% of the delegate vote. This showed party unity was important for a majority of convention delegates, and the best way to show party unity was to rally behind governor Branstad’s choice for Lt. Governor.
And last but not least, the Ray of Sunshine Award goes to—Republican candidate for Attorney General Brenna Findley. Ms. Findley was the hands down favorite of the delegates, as evidenced by the two standing ovations she received at the convention. It should be noted the odds of Ms. Findley becoming the first woman governor of Iowa have gone up considerably in the last few days, and now stands at a favorable all time high of 60-40.
NOTE: Mr. Vander Plaats has not yet been located to receive his award. Is there a Vander Plot afoot for November? We shall see.